Midland University partnership set to close on former Dana property on July 19

Thursday

Jun 13, 2013 at 1:59 PMJun 13, 2013 at 2:01 PM

Midland University announced today that it will acquire full control of the former Dana College campus through its partnership with Krejci Development LLC on July 19, 2013. The sale of the Dana property will mark a major milestone in Midland's plan to restore the Blair campus to full use.

Midland University announced today that it will acquire full control of the former Dana College campus through its partnership with Krejci Development LLC on July 19, 2013. The sale of the Dana property will mark a major milestone in Midland's plan to restore the Blair campus to full use.

"We are eager to have the keys in hand," said Midland President Ben Sasse. "To be able to start reacquainting folks with the promise and potential sitting on that hill, will be a real asset as we take the next steps in this process."

A key part of the process for the university will be achieving its goals of not simply restoring the campus to use but actually upgrading the facilities and enhancing student housing. Through a collaborative effort with Midland's facilities improvement partner, Krejci Development LLC, the University will have a variety of alternative financing mechanisms through which to enhance the existing physical plant.

The completion of the transaction on July 19 will mark the end of phase two of Midland's four-phase Dana College redevelopment plan. The third and most important phase of bringing the campus back to active use is expected to begin shortly after the university acquires control of the campus with the initiation of a major capital campaign later this summer.

The launch of the capital campaign will mark one of the last major hurdles to restoring the college to active use. Midland officials are committed to raising $11 million over the next year and a half through a campaign that draws on the commitment of Blair area residents and the Dana alumni community. Achievement of major milestones of the development campaign will be a necessity before major construction can begin on the campus.

"We are confident that the commitment from Dana alumni and the people of Blair are more than sufficient to achieve this goal," said Sasse. "We are fully invested now, and I know there are many friends of Dana who are ready to join us in this unique opportunity to shape the future for lots of kids."

Contingent upon successful completion of the capital campaign, Midland aims to welcome the first class of students to campus in the fall of 2015 or 2016.